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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23182873">Dinner and a Show</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/embarrassingresultofmyfreetime/pseuds/embarrassingresultofmyfreetime'>embarrassingresultofmyfreetime</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>And They Were Happy AU [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>13 and the Master being domestic, 13 and the Master do that mind share thing, I still don't know why I put myself through this, Sad with a Happy Ending, agonizing with a bittersweet ending, also heads up this will probably make you sad but idk your life so do what you want I guess, basically: au where the Master is on his last life, im not even sure if I should tag this as major character death or not, im rating this 13+ for emotional turmoil, need i say more?, of the Master begging 13 to turn him human w the chameleon arc, oh and this was also kind of inspired by this quite gorgeous yet agonizing art</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 16:14:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,120</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23182873</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/embarrassingresultofmyfreetime/pseuds/embarrassingresultofmyfreetime</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>All his lives, the Master had always believed that he and the Doctor could hold on for about the same amount of time. He always imagined that when they reached their last lives, they would both give all this up and spend their retirement years bickering and raising bees or whatever. The Master didn't particularly like bees, but he had always imagined that the Doctor did and as long as they were together, that was enough to satisfy him.</p><p>What he had discovered in the Matrix had proved his ideal endgame impossible.</p><p>The revelation that the Doctor was The Timeless Child meant that the Doctor would always live on. They would always evolve and survive no matter what happened. The Doctor would always race to people in need; and now, they would never have any reason to stop.</p><p>(AU where the reason the Master wanted the Doctor to kill them both in The Timeless Child is bc he's on his last life)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>The Doctor/The Master (Doctor Who), Thirteenth Doctor/O, Thirteenth Doctor/The Master (Dhawan)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>And They Were Happy AU [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1684924</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>175</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Dinner and a Show</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I think the tags and summary say enough, but anyways here's a disclaimer that I am fully aware that the Master is a terrible person. However, I can do whatever I'd like.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The Master draped himself across the booth of the restaurant like he was closing an illegal trade deal. He sat alone, but he still held cyberium who was reluctantly keeping him company. He acted as if he wasn't scared, but he already knew what would happen now that he was no longer a useful business partner. He sat there with false bravado, already knowing that his betrayal wouldn't go unpunished.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You won't find another as fit as me, darling" he tried to convince the entity. "I know our big plan didn't work this time around but-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The part of his mind the cyberium held in its grasp fought back against him. It accused him of sabotaging their plan. It threatened repercussions for his foolish decision to leave the death particle within the Doctor's reach; the key to their downfall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It was all part of my plan-" The Master tried to explain, but he was cut short again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The cyberium retaliated against him. It threatened to consume more of his mind in a desperate attempt to make him compliant. The Master fought back defiantly ultimately found himself victorious. He was more determined to keep his mind his own than the cyberium was to keep its host anyhow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master mercilessly ripped the cyberium from his very cells, painfully but effectively expelling it from his body. If there was one thing he refused to lose, it was control over himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The defeated cyberium flowed along his veins to his hands and out into the open air. Around him, he could hear the humans screaming in fear as the metallic substance reformed into a levitating mass.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As quickly as it had left him, it began its search for a new host. It leapt from person to person, disappointed to find no one willing to embrace its great power.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master watched it for a long minute from where his exhausted head had collapsed against the table before him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hadn't realized how much his body had been using the cyberium as a crutch. Ridding himself of the cyberium took more effort than he had predicted and now every muscle in his body burned as if his blood was on fire. The muscles in his shoulders clamped down onto him, constricting until it ached to move them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He grunted with the agonizing realization that his recklessness could cost him a regeneration. He really hoped not.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was living his last life already.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not that anyone knew that of course.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had carefully recounted his regenerations to be sure, and he highly doubted the Doctor was keeping track.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The fact that this was his last life time was the real reason he had wanted to go out in such outlandish, dramatic fashion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All his lives, he had always believed that he and the Doctor could hold on for about the same amount of time. He always imagined that when they reached their last lives, they would both give all this up and spend their retirement years bickering and raising bees or whatever. The Master didn't particularly like bees, but he had always imagined that the Doctor did and as long as they were together, that was enough to satisfy him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What he had discovered in the Matrix had proved his ideal endgame impossible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The revelation that the Doctor was The Timeless Child meant that the Doctor would always live on. They would always evolve and survive no matter what happened. The Doctor would always race to people in need; and now, they would never have any reason to stop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn't believe in a Hell, but if there was some version of the afterlife it would certainly feel like Hell- for the Doctor would never be able to join him there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was the reason he had clung to being 'O' for so long. He had managed to have just a breath of what their last days might have been like- in his impossibly perfect world- and it would have to be enough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was all but mortal now and any old wound would be enough to end him for good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Amidst the chaos, he willed himself to move. He disregarded the cyberium and stumbled out the front door of the restaurant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn't have the time to worry himself with regret. He had never regretted a single action and he refused to start now. Regret was a road down which he didn't have the time to travel. He was too terrified to find out where it would lead him anyhow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tried to look to his achievements instead, but a singular thought was rapidly consuming him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>'I'll be dead and the Doctor would never know,' his mind plunged through what felt like the ice of a frozen lake beneath his feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She would just go on traveling and doing whatever it was she did with her human pets.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He briefly wondered if she would ever look for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He made his way back to his Tardis and dragged himself over to his console. He could probably heal up, but what was the point?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn't have anything left to do anyways. All his effort- for so many years- had been spent satisfying his need for a distraction. He had gotten his one last chance to face the Doctor; and she had refused to let him die by her hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If she would refuse him that, even in the most dire of circumstances, then he had no tricks left to try.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pulled himself back together, and pondered what he should do with the remainder of his lifetime. There was only one burning thing he wanted and he couldn't have it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor would never let him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Although....</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well... he supposed....</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was one way to have this world he wanted... and perhaps if the Doctor was kind enough, she could let him have it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He set his Tardis's coordinates for the last time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alarms blared in the Doctor's Tardis. She had made it back from Jadoon-mandated jail with the help of a certain Captain Jack Harkness, but had yet to return to her human companions when it went off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Another Tardis?!" She exclaimed, waves of hope and fear flowing freely through the large room. There had been plenty of Tardis's left on Gallifrey when the death particle had gone off. Surely they had been wiped out- for they were both alive as well as machine. If one had escaped... what could that mean?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She set its coordinates as fast as she could.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As always, she did her best to brace for whatever awaited her. Still, it hurt more than she thought it would.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor strayed out her Tardis's doors a good several steps, trembling in disbelief at the sight it revealed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She found herself in the outback with a hauntingly familiar hut parked before her. The structure appeared to be as real as ever and- with the memory of the Master begging her for their mutual destruction still fresh in her mind- it looked painfully welcoming.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned sharply for her Tardis but an all too familiar voice called for her before she could reach its doors.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Doctor! My goodness!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She must have the wrong date, she should leave before she crossed her own timeline-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You had me worried sick! I just woke up with a letter explaining what had happened and I'm... having quite a hard time wrapping my head around it to be honest."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>'A... letter?' The Doctor considered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What's the date?" She asked abruptly, her hand freezing against the familiar texture of the Tardis door. After a long moment of hesitation, she finally found the nerve to look to the voice. Sure enough it was O, beaming away at her with those wide brown eyes she had grown so accustomed to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Right, of course," he nodded with realization, "Time travel! It's March 11th, two thousand and twenty."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"March, right." The Doctor confirmed. She nodded but kept her gaze away from his line of sight. She had no idea what this meant. This couldn't be right, and yet it was clearly happening. She had to get a grip. No matter how much she secretly hoped the Master had survived, this couldn't mean-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You got a letter?" The Doctor mused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes! Please, come inside. You're just in time for lunch."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Somewhat reluctantly and yet far more hopeful than she would have liked to be, she followed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I woke up with the letter you sent. Which, I'll admittedly, didn't make a ton of sense," he briefly scratched the back of his neck in thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It said that you were grateful for my help with the Kas-uh-vin- whatever that is- but that I wouldn't be able to remember it because something happened and you had to wipe it away for my own safety. Uh... a-and it also said that you had to leave a note because there was some very important stuff to take care of which, of course I understand! I'm sure saving the world is a busy task."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He showed her in through the door and politely pulled out a chair to his small kitchen table. On it sat a simple meal but delicious-looking meal, which the Doctor concluded was probably the lunch he had referred to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn't take a seat nor did she help herself to anything to eat. The sick feeling in her gut demanded she stay alert and ready to run at a moment's notice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>O- the Doctor could only assume- then hurried briskly off through the room to retrieve something as he continued,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The letter also said that when you showed up again, I was to give you this parcel immediately. And that it would explain everything."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He quickly returned with a large envelope in hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The letter said to give you this the moment you returned. I don't quite understand why, but I suppose that's time travel for you. I didn't look inside, although admittedly I'm quite curious."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He offered the parcel out to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor didn't understand a thing that was happening. She didn't understand how suddenly O was there again- with no memory of what had happened- and could treat her with such kindness after everything they had been through. She had expected something to slip by now, but she didn't see a trace of darkness in his warm expression.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He faltered at her hesitation, "If you... would like to look at it on your own time I understand. Although it's strange, if it had been meant for you I would have thought the sender would have put your name on it, not mine," O chuckled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor's hearts began to pound so hard she half-worried they might escape up her throat. Her eyes fell over the label.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At first glance, the obvious conclusion was that the circle on it was an 'O'- but it most certainly was not. She couldn't hear anything above her own heartbeat as she observed the line slashed across it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It does," was all she could say before taking it, carefully, from his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She swiftly left the house- as quickly as she had arrived- and crossed the distance to her Tardis.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wait!" O's voice called after her. The simple sound hurt the Doctor beyond understanding. It hurt the Doctor's ears just to process the sound. She turned back to face him, a sudden coldness in her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her cheerful expression fell away and her hair curtained her face with the help of a gentle breeze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the sight, O's feet froze in place, his eyes tearful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Have I done something wrong? You would tell me if I had, right?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor dipped her head and looked him over one last time. He looked so scared and she could see that he didn't even know why.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor opened her Tardis door and silently stepped inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sat down with her back against the doors.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>O didn't knock on them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was always considerate not to press things, especially things that upset the Doctor. He... had always been kind to her that way. Even when he had been the Master playing her... he showed her that one mercy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now appeared to be no different.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor turned the package around to properly look it over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn't an O on the label, it was an old greek letter that roughly translated to her old gallifreyan name: Theta.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She tore open the parcel and poured out its contents: a single hologram messenger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sat it on the floor before her, and pressed play.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The message sprung to life, projecting the three-dimensional image of the Master before her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His figure stood over her. He was all dressed up in his best blue and orange striped suit and purple overcoat. His hair had been carefully swept out of his face but all it did was give the Doctor a better view of the anguish behind his expression.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was something nerve racking about the way he stood there, focused on collecting his thoughts. He didn't look up from the floor for several long seconds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A moment later, he sprung to life. He stood himself up confidently, his hands finding the lapels of his waist coat- and finally he began to speak. His voice carried as well as ever, like a well rehearsed song, but there was something more behind his words,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I originally wrote you a letter, but I thought it best to send you this instead. So you can see that what I've done has not been done lightly."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He paused before attempting to fall back into his familiar, song-like speech pattern. He even forced a chuckle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't mean all the death," he joked dryly, "I couldn't care less about that. I mean what I've done since we last met. I'll just... tell you what I wrote."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked over to her- not down to her as he had in her last message- but to where he had predicted she would stand, at eye level. The Doctor quickly rushed to her feet, and stood before him. She studied his expression as he pulled a paper from his inside jacket pocket. He glanced at it for a moment before folding it up again and returning it to his coat pocket.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"My dear Doctor," he pronounced each word with great and gentle care, "This may come as a surprise, but I've used up my regenerations."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His words came at her like a knife through her chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's okay. I know you haven't been keeping track, but this life IS- quite honestly- my very last one."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took another deep breath before continuing, lifting his chin slightly to make sure he was holding his head as high and confidently as possible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I had hoped... you would kill us both, that day, on Gallifrey," he admitted, an uneven grin widening across his face as he reminisced,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I had hoped I'd given you enough reason to....</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"But knowing you'll always live on means that you'll never have any reason to stop what you've always been doing; tending to this little planet, watching over these pitiful human lives."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He very nearly seemed disappointed. There was no malice left in his voice. He continued, more boldly,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So seeing as you'll never retire, I've gone and done it without you. I offer you my last, terribly short life, and my companionship. To be one of your human pets. He- and by extension I- will be human. Identical in every way to O, whom you've already shown so much affection for," he noted as if mentioning the Doctor's kindness was a childish insult.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll be the kind of person you believed I could be. In return, all I ask is that you never open my watch."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One of the Master's hands dropped from where it had been tightly locked on his suit's lapels and returned with the watch in hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At that moment, the bottom of the hologram messenger slid open to reveal the very same watch. The Doctor reached down and took it between her hands. It was still warm from the energy he had used to turn himself human.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No matter what, NEVER open it," the Master demanded without any force behind his words. "My body will die, but I can't bare to think of what will happen if my spirit does as well. Anywhere I would go after that would be hell without you, my dear, and we both now know that's the one place you can never travel to."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master glanced to the watch in his own hand and chuckled as he then placed it out of sight once more. He continued, his eyes brimming with silent tears,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I won't ask you to love me, or take care of me. However, if you would be so kind as to visit, every so often...." he cleared his throat,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I could never forget you, but human minds seem far more unreliable and I... don't know who I would be without you.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Keep the watch," he nodded, "Put it some back room in your Tardis. Let it fall behind a dresser, let it gather dust, just... don't forget me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The hologram stepped back and then took a knee, his head bowed as if he were a knight pledging his allegiance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He finished his letter,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Your best enemy,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His gaze flickered up to her one last time and effectually dragged the Doctor down to his image. She crashed to her knees before him. She couldn't begin to comprehend what she was doing as she reached for him, attempting to throw her arms around his neck even though she knew there was nothing there for her to touch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Predictably, her hands fell through thin air and the Master's image disappeared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor fell to her knees and forearms, and then weakly onto her side. Her head fell to the Tardis floor as she began to weep. She wanted it to be him, to be his mind and his arms to catch her. But there was nothing. And nothing came to rescue her as she clutched the watch close to her hearts and let out a scream of insurmountable grief that echoed through the room and down the Tardis's long halls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Deep down, she knew it was the Master's choice to make. To live his last life in bliss.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But where did that leave her? She was alone and-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her eyes opened once more, her head now sideways where she had been sobbing on the floor. She stared sideways up at the Tardis and abruptly grew silent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That's what the Master had given her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had given her... himself. His... companionship. He would ALWAYS be there, on Earth, safe, and supportive, and there, just for her. Whenever she needed it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master had gotten his happy ending. He had gotten his peace and he left knowing that no matter how long the Doctor lived, there would always be a place where she could visit him. Where they would never have to hurt again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor chuckled, tears still streaming from her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She began to laugh, even as the weight of it all kept her pinned to the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At some point, she must've worn herself out because she continued to lay there for several long hours.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Knowing the Master that she knew was gone felt unreal- and yet he wasn't really gone. She had his watch, and she had the version of him that he had left for her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe one of the Master's mad schemes could really work after all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor hadn't any idea how long she'd been there when she finally felt the strength to stand up again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had been clutching the Master's watch like a lifeline, but after properly staring it down, she had decided on the perfect spot for it. She sealed it away in the Tardis console, out of sight but never out of mind. Curiously, the watch had no perception filter, but remained quiet anyhow. As if a sign that he was finally at peace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stared at it for a very long time... and then finally she swung her arms, clapped, and stepped away. She only made it to the doors before pausing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked back to the console.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn't right for the Master to give her what she had always wanted of him. It simply... wasn't right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She could probably have healed him, but he clearly didn't want that from her. He would have been smart enough to take it from her if he had wanted to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was what he wanted, and maybe- someday- she might even accept that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She did her best to shake the thought from her mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the moment, all she knew was that the nightmares that had plagued her old friend's mind- the truth of the Time Lords' origins, the Time War, the Drums, and suchlike- were all safely locked away in the watch. All while an oblivious, human version of him awaited the Doctor just outside her Tardis doors.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And truth be told, the Doctor was ready to cry tears of joy at the idea of having her FRIEND back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stepped out of the Tardis, and locked the door behind her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She felt disassociated as she made the short trek from her Tardis to... to O's home. Could she face him again? Now? So soon? Knowing the truth and not being able to tell him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe this was the Master's plan all along.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To leave her with one last bittersweet agony.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Doctor!" O nearly leapt from his couch at the sound of her closing the front door behind her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His enthusiasm and clear relief fell into worry as he looked over the state of her. The Doctor ran the sleeve of her coat across her face once more to brush away any tears she had missed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>O's steps fell short before her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Would you like anything to eat? I haven't put away the leftovers yet. Or I'm watching this evening comedy show, if you'd like to watch it with me," he offered sincerely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor hesitated. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve this kindness. Yet she couldn't turn it down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had a feeling O needed it just as much as she did. That the Master could have used it even more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her hesitation made O even more nervous. He jammed one of his hands into his pocket and scratched the back of his head with the other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I can't imagine you want to talk about things right now so I could- You know what, I saved that show where they build crazy things and you can tell me about their inefficiency and structural integrity-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stopped abruptly as the Doctor took his face in her hands. He tensed up beneath her touch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to check something in your mind," she asked of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I.... Go ahead?" He replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As quickly as seamlessly as it always felt with the Master, the Doctor connected to O's mind. It put her at ease to see that the Master had indeed left O with all the previous knowledge the Doctor had given him. O knew all about the family of his stolen identity as if it was his own. He knew about his job at MI6 and every call and text he and the Doctor had ever shared. The Master had done an incredibly detailed job weaving it all back together- despite the missing pieces- and as far as anyone else would ever know, O was as real as the identity the Master had stolen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor quickly disconnected it again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm sorry. I don't like doing that but I had to check something," the Doctor explained, letting go of O's face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded somewhat blissfully and hummed a response,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's... alright. That was nice."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Nice?" The Doctor asked, almost surprised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Should it not be?" O questioned curiously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor chuckled. "Some people find it invasive, but back... w-when I grew up," she edited her words before continuing, "my friend and I got really good at it. It always felt nice when we did it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor shuffled one foot against the floor. This was going to be harder to say than she thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"He died recently," the Doctor explained. "We were... very close."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Died... not the way you regenerate I take it," O confirmed. The Doctor could see the gears behind his eyes ticking away, deep in thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor smiled at him softly, her chest aching, "Yes."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm so sorry. So was that package..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It was from him, yes," the Doctor confirmed, "It was... a goodbye."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Was it because of something I did? Is that why you were upset earlier-" O quickly tried to piece everything together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No! No. It's not because of you," the Doctor quickly assured him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She found herself reaching for him, pulling him into a hug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It felt unbelievably good to have him in her arms. To be able to hold him once again. It had been far too long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>O relaxed into her touch, melting carefully against her. His head fell onto her shoulder and his hands gently settled onto her back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pressed her face to his neck and did her best to let go of her grief. She wouldn't see the Master again, but he hadn't left her alone either. That certainly counted for something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, she pulled away again. The energy she had been missing slowly began to refill inside her hearts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>O was smiling softly as she pulled away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You know, late night comedy might be just the thing I need," she agreed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>O mirrored her growing grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Alright, let me just clean up a bit and I'll be right there."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor tossed her coat over the back of his couch and then tossed herself across it. She chuckled at a couple of jokes and heard O toss a bag of popcorn in the microwave once he had washed up from his dinner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He returned with a large bowl of it and the Doctor moved her feet away enough for him to sit down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was strange. O still looked like the Master in a way, and he certainly felt like the Master to her, but he wasn't in pain the way the Master always was. O was now a collection of the Master's better parts while all the most traumatic parts of his life stayed locked away in the watch he had given her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without really thinking about it, the Doctor found herself getting up and walking to the other side of the couch where O was sitting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He beamed up at her with confused but curious eyes as she blocked his view of the tv.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor reached down for his face and hooked her fingers under his jaw. She leaned him forwards and gently kissed the top of his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When she was done, she let him go and returned to where she layed on the couch, her feet on his lap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What was that for?" O chuckled a moment later as his mind processed what she'd done.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm... not big on physical affection but just... thank you," The Doctor explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>O blushed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I haven't done anything," he replied, like he couldn't believe she was treating him so softly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor leaned her head back against the arm of the couch and turned back to the tv. Suddenly, it felt easy to say.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You've done plenty for me and... I've always appreciated it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor had fallen asleep on the couch that night, exhausted from the emotional rollercoaster she'd been through that day, but woke up in O's bed. She glanced around, baffled, until she opened his door and found O asleep on the couch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor liked to think that if the Master's life had gone a little differently, he might have turned out just like O anyways.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That said, the moment the Doctor tried to snuggle up next to O on the couch, he pushed her to the floor. She landed flat on her back with a hard thud but her only response was to laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sound woke O up more fully. He apologized the moment he realized what he had done, but the Doctor only pulled him off the couch in retaliation- a scene that had played out often back when they were kids.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>O shouted in fear as he crashed to the floor- but then laughed, as deeply and warmly as ever before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>'Yeah, just like this,' the Doctor decided, her hearts melting at his laughter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She gently pulled his forehead against her own and let his waves of unrestrained joy wash over her mind. It was wonderful and most importantly, they were content.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm not the physical type," she explained to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'd never ask you to be," he promised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I travel, I'm inconsistent," she explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm well aware," he replied, "and I wouldn't ask you to change."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I COULD change," she reminded him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Your mind doesn't. And might I remind you, I've known you over the course of several of your lives. You don't change to me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Something could happen to me. I could leave and never be able to come back."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're worth the pain," his deep brown eyes admired hers for a long minute, "No matter what, you're always hopeful. I think I could manage it myself for a little while. Ever the optimist, me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You are, aren't you," the Doctor noted. She thought back to all the Masters plans, all his failed schemes, and still he fought to the last breath, for what he wanted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had always respected that about him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"To a fault," O chuckled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Alright," the Doctor caved, her hearts on fire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Alright what?" O barely had time to finish before the Doctor kissed him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was careful and gentle and quite frankly a little awkward, but neither of them cared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was over just as quickly and the Doctor shuffled off to his kitchen before O could find his way onto his feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm starving. It's been days since I've eaten if I'm remembering correctly. Do you have eggs?" The Doctor called over to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>O let out a lovestruck sigh before chasing after her. He pulled a few ingredients from the fridge and then shuffled to find her a clean pan to cook with.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Excellent. I could use a hand. I haven't tried cooking myself yet so I'm not sure if I remember how. I'd rather not burn down your kitchen."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>O scoffed and gathered together a few other items for her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That's alright. I'll be right here, whenever you need."</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Despite the fact that I hope the Master never dies in canon, I thought it would be interesting to give him a happy ending of sorts. All the talk from him about how 'broken' he was in The Timeless Children and how he wanted to break the Doctor in that same way really stuck a chord with me.<br/>I just kept thinking, why would dying together be so important to him? So one idea I had is because he knows she'll outlive him and he can't stand to be reduced to just another name in her past.<br/>So then off of that, came this fic where he finds a way to live out the blissful life he wanted without having to ask the Doctor to change since he knows she won't. I don't think this would ever actually happen, but like I said. I do what I want.</p><p>If you actually read this then wow thank you so much!! I'd say I hope you enjoyed it but I got pretty emotional just writing this so idk if 'enjoyed' is the right word lol</p><p>Stay safe!!</p><p>------</p><p>Update-2: So I originally intended this au to be a single story and never addressed again. However, as suggested, I've decided to continue it anyways! I'm going to leave this fic as is- the way I originally intended- and have linked the continuation as part 2 of this 'series' with the same name. Feel free to read it at your leisure and thank you everyone for your overwhelming support!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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